Foreword (for Springer Proceedings - Business and Economics Series)

I congratulate my colleagues, Adina Letiția Negrușa and Monica Maria Coroș for planning, organizing and leading their International Conference – Modern Trends in Business, Hospitality, and Tourism that was recently held at the Faculty of Business in Babeș-Bolyai University of Cluj Napoca, Romania. I am honored to prepare my Foreword for the 3rd Edition of their book, entitled; “Sustainable Approaches and Business Challenges in Times of Crisis”. I am very pleased to announce that this title features seventeen (17) contributions that were accepted for publication in Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics series. It covers a broad range of topics focused on business, tourism and/or hospitality, including tourism strategy, tourism planning, tourism policy, airline economics, crisis management, sustainable tourism, fund raising of non-governmental organizations, branding, tourism marketing, destination marketing, small town destination marketing, smart destinations, agri-tourism, mountain tourism, spa tourism, as well as on the adoption of disruptive tourism technologies (including Blockchain, innovative mobile applications, et cetera), among others. This publication is a useful guide for practitioners including those who are actively engaged in the tourism and hospitality sectors. However, it is a valuable resource for consultants, senior executives and managers who work in other service-based industries.The contributing authors utilize various methodological approaches including theoretical, empirical and real-life case studies to shed light on the latest technological developments as well as on the most modern trends that appeal to business researchers and scholars. They critically analyze the global marketing environments, and discuss on a wide array of economic, socio-cultural, technological and environmental realities in the aftermath of the unexpected Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic